RS Express – Celebrations, Anniversaries & Volunteer Stories

Keeping up with Katsikas – one year on

It’s been one year since we arrived at Katsikas camp – and it’s been a busy year!

Time flies when there’s lots to do. This year, the camp has doubled in size, and our new empowerment fund has seen the launch of several on site activities, such as Café Yasmin and Abdullah’s Bakery.

We owe this success to the donors and volunteers who have helped make all this work possible. While a refugee camp is no place to live, we will continue to do what we can in the coming year to make sure that residents feel as comfortable and dignified as possible.

Home from Tijuana

For the past few weeks, the RS Express has followed John, Paul and friends on their journey in Tijuana helping those from Honduras travelling with the Mexican caravan.

– Cooked and served over 4,000 highly nutritious hot meals to 500 people.– Distributed about 10,000 pieces of fruit and 2,000 litres of drinking water.– Paid a local pharmacy to keep its toilet open and free to all for 12 hours a day.– Supported the cleaning of the camp area with hundreds of trash/rubbish bags.– Worked with over 30 volunteers from Mexico, US, UK, Haiti, Salvador and Honduras who also contributed essential hygiene items as well as their free labour.– Listened to many people tell us their life in home countries, why they left and their dreams.– Worked with other agencies to highlight people needing medical care and unaccompanied minors needing protection.– Donated mass catering equipment to the local church community to enable them to continue offering sustenance to local migrants.– Invested in the local Tijuana economy.

The people in Tijuana have endured unimaginable suffering, but with the support of donors, great volunteers and a lot of love, the team were able to do a lot to help in just 2 weeks.

Whilst it’s back to Katsikas camp for now, we hope that the work we started in Tijuana can be continued in our wake.

Thank you to everyone who donated and wished us well during this journey.

Volunteer stories

”I had assumed it would be quite a tough experience, a challenging experience and also quite an upsetting one. But whilst elements of it held true to those expectations, I was also amazed at the laughter and joy that came out of it too.”

This week, Tasha shared her volunteer story with us about her time volunteering with us in Greece in 2017.

Volunteering changed Tasha’s life; and she’s now studying Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Cambridge and hopes to specialise in refugee studies. Tasha is one to keep an eye on!

Gifts that give back this Christmas

Environmentally friendly, ethically sourced, and high-quality, these gifts are not only unique, but will help refugees.

There’s something for everything, so check out our online store and purchase a lovely gift today.

Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next week.Please contact us today at [email protected] and check out our volunteer stories for more details about volunteering with refugees in Greece.Refugee Support